Navigation device displaying travel information

ABSTRACT

A navigation device, programmable with map data and a navigation application that enables a route to be planned between two user-defined places; the device is operable to read a removable memory card storing the device operating system, the navigation application, and the map data. It does not need to store the operating system in mask ROM; hence, customisation for a specific country requires only that the appropriate memory card be inserted at the time of use.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/598,889 filed on Sep. 14, 2006, which claims the priority ofPCT/GB2005/000984 filed on Mar. 15, 2005 and GB 0405795.6 filed on Mar.15, 2004, the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporatedin total by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a navigation device that can display travelinformation. The device finds particular application as an in-carnavigation system.

2. Description of the Prior Art

GPS based navigation devices are well known and are widely employed asin-car navigation devices. Reference may be made to the Navigator seriessoftware from the present assignee, TomTom B.V. (now TomTomInternational B.V.). This is software that, when running on a PDA (suchas a Compaq iPaq) connected to an external GPS receiver, enables a userto input to the PDA a start and destination address. The software thencalculates the best route between the two end-points and displaysinstructions on how to navigate that route. By using the positionalinformation derived from the GPS receiver, the software can determine atregular intervals the position of the PDA (typically mounted on thedashboard of a vehicle) and can display the current position of thevehicle on a map and display (and speak) appropriate navigationinstructions (e.g. ‘turn left in 100 m’). Graphics depicting the actionsto be accomplished (e.g. a left arrow indicating a left turn ahead) canbe displayed in a status bar and also be superimposed over theapplicable junctions/turnings etc in the roads shown in the map itself.

Reference may also be made to devices that integrate a GPS receiver intoa computing device programmed with a map database and that can generatenavigation instructions on a display. These integrated devices are oftenmounted on or in the dashboard of a vehicle. The term ‘navigationdevice’ refers to a device that enables a user to navigate to apre-defined destination. The device may have an internal system forreceiving location data, such as a GPS receiver, or may merely beconnectable to a receiver that can receive location data. The device maybe a portable device or may be built-into a vehicle.

Conventional GPS based navigation devices (in common with other forms ofembedded devices or systems) execute all the OS and applications code inplace from a large mask ROM or XIP (execute in Place) Flash memorydevice. There are several disadvantages to this: ROM based designsgenerally require the ROM to be burnt at an early stage in themanufacture of a product; once the ROM mask is fixed, altering it iscostly and can be complex. Hence, ROM based design are inherentlyinflexible. Secondly, mask ROM and XIP Flash are costly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect, there is a navigation device, programmable with mapdata and a navigation application that enables a route to be plannedbetween two user-defined places, wherein the device is operable to reada removable memory card storing the device operating system, thenavigation application, and the map data.

The device does not store its operating system in internal ROM butinstead reads if off from the memory card, which may be a SD card.

The device may further comprise XIP (execute In Place) Flash ROMprogrammed with a boot loader. On boot up, the boot loader prompts forthe user to insert the supplied SD card. Once the user inserts the SDcard, a card reader in the device reads the card; the device then copiesa special system file from the SD card into device DRAM, the system fileincluding the operating system and the navigation application. Oncecopying of the system file is complete, control will be passed to thenavigation application, which starts and accesses non-volatile data fromthe SD card. When the device is subsequently switched off, the DRAMcontents is preserved so that the boot up procedure only has to occurthe first time the device is used.

This approach has a number of advantages over conventional ROM basedsystems:

1. Late configurability. By only ‘hard coding’ onto the device a bootloader in XIP Flash, the device can be configured in terms of locale andvariant at a late stage in the manufacture by simply including theappropriate SD card with the finished device.

2. Cost. SD Flash memory and DRAM are the cheapest forms of memory andare cheaper than XIP Flash memory.

3. Speed. Memory access times for DRAM are much lower than those forflash memory.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which

FIG. 1 is a screen shot from a navigation device implementing thepresent invention; the screen shot shows a plan map view and a statusbar running along the bottom of the display;

FIG. 2 is a screen shot from the navigation device implementing a 3-Dview;

FIG. 3 is a screen shot from the navigation device showing a navigationmenu;

FIGS. 4A and B are perspective views of the navigation device; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the system architecture for the navigationdevice;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of components in the navigation device;

FIG. 7 is a diagram of the electrical subassemblies in the FIG. 6navigation device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION System Overview

The present invention is implemented in an integrated navigation devicefrom TomTom B.V. (now TomTom International B.V.) called Go. Go deploysnavigation software called Navigator and has an internal GPS recevier;Navigator software can also run on a touch screen (i.e. styluscontrolled) Pocket PC powered PDA device, such as the Compaq iPaq. Itthen provides a GPS based navigation system when the PDA is coupled witha GPS receiver. The combined PDA and GPS receiver system is designed tobe used as an in-vehicle navigation system.

The invention may also be implemented in any other arrangement ofnavigation device, such as one with an integral GPSreceiver/computer/display, or a device designed for non-vehicle use(e.g. for walkers) or vehicles other than cars (e.g. aircraft). Thenavigation device may implement any kind of position sensing technologyand is not limited to GPS; it can hence be implemented using other kindsof GNSS (global navigation satellite system) such as the EuropeanGalileo system. Equally, it is not limited to satellite basedlocation/velocity systems but can be deployed using ground-based beaconsor any other kind of system that enables the device to determine itsgeographic location.

Navigator software, when running on a PDA, results in a navigationdevice that causes the normal navigation mode screen shown in FIG. 1 tobe displayed. This view provides driving instructions using acombination of text, symbols, voice guidance and a moving map. Key userinterface elements are the following: a 2-D map 1 occupies most of thescreen. The map shows the user's car and its immediate surroundings,rotated in such a way that the direction in which the car is moving isalways “up”. Running across the bottom quarter of the screen is thestatus bar 2. The current location of the device, as the device itselfdetermines using conventional GPS location finding and its orientation(as inferred from its direction of travel) is depicted by an arrow 3.The route calculated by the device (using route calculation algorithmsstored in device memory as applied to map data stored in a map databasein device memory) is shown as darkened path 4 superimposed with arrowsgiving the travel direction. On the darkened path 4, all major actions(e.g. turning corners, crossroads, roundabouts etc.) are schematicallydepicted by arrows 5 overlaying the path 4. The status bar 2 alsoincludes at its left hand side a schematic 6 depicting the next action 7(here, a right turn). The status bar 2 also shows the distance to thenext action (i.e. the right turn—here the distance is 220 meters) asextracted from a database of the entire route calculated by the device(i.e. a list of all roads and related actions defining the route to betaken). Status bar 2 also shows the name of the current road 8, theestimated time before arrival 9 (here 2 minutes and 40 seconds), theactual estimated arrival time 10 (11.36 am) and the distance to thedestination 11 (1.4 Km). The GPS signal strength is shown in amobile-phone style signal strength indicator 12. A 3-D map view is alsopossible, as shown in FIG. 2.

If the user touches the centre of the screen 13, then a navigationscreen menu is displayed (FIG. 3); from this menu, other core navigationfunctions within the Navigator application can be initiated orcontrolled. Allowing core navigation functions to be selected from amenu screen that is itself very readily called up (e.g. one step awayfrom the map display to the menu screen) greatly simplifies the userinteraction and makes it faster and easier.

The area of the touch zone which needs to be touched by a user is farlarger than in most stylus based touch screen systems. It is designed tobe large enough to be reliably selected by a single finger withoutspecial accuracy; i.e. to mimic the real-life conditions for a driverwhen controlling a vehicle; he or she will have little time to look at ahighly detailed screen with small control icons, and still less time toaccurately press one of those small control icons. Hence, using a verylarge touch screen area associated with a given soft key (or hidden softkey, as in the centre of the screen 13) is a deliberate design featureof this implementation. Unlike other stylus based applications, thisdesign feature is consistently deployed throughout Navigator to selectcore functions that are likely to be needed by a driver whilst actuallydriving. Hence, whenever the user is given the choice of selectingon-screen icons (e.g. control icons, or keys of a virtual keyboard toenter a destination address, for example), then the design of thoseicons/keys is kept simple and the associated touch screen zones isexpanded to such a size that each icon/key can unambiguously be fingerselected. In practice, the associated touch screen zone will be of theorder of at least 0.7 cm.sup.2 and will typically be a square zone. Innormal navigation mode, the device displays a map. Touching the map(i.e. the touch sensitive display) once (or twice in a differentimplementation) near to the screen centre (or any part of the screen inanother implementation) will then call up a navigation menu (see FIG. 3)with large icons corresponding to various navigation functions, such asthe option to calculate an alternative route, and re-calculate the routeso as to avoid the next section of road (useful when faced with anobstruction or heavy congestion); or recalculate the route so as toavoid specific, listed roads.

The actual physical structure of the device is fundamentally differentfrom a conventional embedded device in terms of the memory architecture(see system Architecture section below). At a high level it is similarthough: memory stores the route calculation algorithms, map database anduser interface software; a microprocessor interprets and processes userinput (e.g. using a device touch screen to input the start anddestination addresses and all other control inputs) and deploys theroute calculation algorithms to calculate the optimal route. ‘Optimal’may refer to criteria such as shortest time or shortest distance, orsome other user-related factors.

More specifically, the user inputs his start position and requireddestination in the normal manner into the Navigator software running onthe PDA using a virtual keyboard. The user then selects the manner inwhich a travel route is calculated: various modes are offered, such as a‘fast’ mode that calculates the route very rapidly, but the route mightnot be the shortest; a ‘full’ mode that looks at all possible routes andlocates the shortest, but takes longer to calculate etc. Other optionsare possible, with a user defining a route that is scenic—e.g. passesthe most POI (points of interest) marked as views of outstanding beauty,or passes the most POIs of possible interest to children or uses thefewest junctions etc.

Roads themselves are described in the map database that is part ofNavigator (or is otherwise accessed by it) running on the PDA aslines—i.e. vectors (e.g. start point, end point, direction for a road,with an entire road being made up of many hundreds of such sections,each uniquely defined by start point/end point direction parameters). Amap is then a set of such road vectors, plus points of interest (POIs),plus road names, plus other geographic features like park boundaries,river boundaries etc, all of which are defined in terms of vectors. Allmap features (e.g. road vectors, POIs etc.) are defined in a coordinatesystem that corresponds or relates to the GPS co-ordinate system,enabling a device's position as determined through a GPS system to belocated onto the relevant road shown in a map.

Route calculation uses complex algorithms that are part of the Navigatorsoftware. The algorithms are applied to score large numbers of potentialdifferent routes. The Navigator software then evaluates them against theuser defined criteria (or device defaults), such as a full mode scan,with scenic route, past museums, and no speed camera. The route whichbest meets the defined criteria is then calculated by a processor in thePDA and then stored in a database in RAM as a sequence of vectors, roadnames and actions to be done at vector end-points (e.g. corresponding topre-determined distances along each road of the route, such as after 100meters, turn left into street x).

FIGS. 4A and 4B are perspective views of an actual implementation of anavigation device 41. The navigation device is a unit that includesdisplay, internal GPS receiver, microprocessor, power supply and memorysystems. The device sites on an arm 42, which itself is secured to thecar dashboard using a large suction cup 43.

System Architecture

In contrast to conventional embedded devices which execute all the OSand application code in place from a large mask ROM or Flash device, animplementation of the present invention uses a new memory architecture.FIG. 5 schematically depicts the device. The device, indicated generallyat 51, includes conventional items such as a microprocessor 56, powersource 57, display and related drivers 58. In addition, it includes a SDcard reader 53; a SD card 52 is shown slotted into position. The device51 has internal DRAM 54 and XIP Flash 55.

The device hence uses three different forms of memory:

1. A small amount of internal XIP (eXecute In Place) Flash ROM 55. Thisis analogous to the PC's BIOS ROM and will only contain a proprietaryboot loader, E.sup.2 emulation (for UID and manufacturing data) andsplash screen bit maps. This is estimated to be 256 KB in size and wouldbe on a slow 8 bit wide SRAM interface.

2. The main system RAM (or DRAM) memory 54, this is analogous to thePC's main memory (RAM). This will be where all the main code executesfrom as well as providing the video RAM and workspace for the OS andapplications. Note: No persistent user data will be stored in the mainsystem RAM (like a PC) i.e. there will be no “Ram drive”. This RAM willbe exclusively connected to a 32 bit 100 MHz synchronous high-speed bus.

3. Non-volatile storage, analogous to the PC's hard disk. This isimplemented as removable NAND flash based SD cards 52. These devices donot support XIP. All the OS, application, settings files and map datawill be permanently stored on SD cards

On boot up the proprietary boot loader 55 will prompt for the user toinsert the supplied SD card 52. When this is done, the device will copya special system file from the SD card 52 into RAM 54. This file willcontain the Operating System and navigation application. Once this iscomplete control will be passed to the application. The application thenstarts and access non-volatile data e.g. maps from the SD card 52.

When the device is subsequently switched off, the RAM 54 contents ispreserved so this boot up procedure only occurs the first time thedevice is used.

APPENDIX 1 GO Product Specification Introduction

Go is a stand-alone fully integrated personal navigation device. It willoperate independently from any connection to the vehicle.

Target Markets

Go is indented to address the general personal navigation market. Inparticular it is designed to extend the market for personal navigationbeyond the “early adopter” market. As such it is a complete stand-alonesolution; it does not require access to a PC, PDA or Internetconnection. The emphasis will be on completeness and ease of use.Although Go is a complete personal navigation solution it is primarilyintended for in vehicle use. The primary target market is anybody whodrives a vehicle either for business or pleasure.

To successfully address this market Go must satisfy the followingtop-level requirements:

1. Acceptable price point—Appropriate compromise between productfeatures and cost.

2. Simplicity—Installation and operation of Go will be simple andintuitive, all major functions should be accomplished by an average nonPC-literate user without recourse to the product manual.

3. Flexibility—All map data and operating programs will be supplied onplug in memory cards. The device can easily be extended to coverdifferent locals.

4. Reliability—Although in-car navigation systems are not consideredsafety critical components users will come to rely on Go. It will beengineered to all relevant automotive environmental standards. Inaddition it will be tolerant to short GPS coverage outages. Channels

Consumer electronics retail outlets

Automotive accessory outlets

Specialist car accessory fitting garages Product Summary

Go is an in-vehicle personal navigation device. It is designed as anappliance, that is, for a specific function rather than a generalpurpose one. It is designed for the consumer after-sales automotivemarket. It will be simple to use and install by the end user, although aprofessional fitting kit will be optionally supplied.

The principal features are:

Built on standard commodity PocketPC 2002 components

Standard PocketPC 3.5″_VGA transflective TFT LCD display mounted inlandscape orientation

Romless soft-boot memory architecture

Highly integrated ARM9 200 MHz CPU SD card memory slot for applicationand map data storage

Integrated GPS receiver and antenna

Integrated two axis accelerometer for simple dead reckoning

Power, audio, debug and external GPS antenna connections made throughdocking connector on base of unit

Embedded Linux OS with no GUI layer, application provides its own UI

Very simple touch screen UI optimised for finger use

High quality integrated speaker for voice instructions

Internal rechargeable Li-Ion battery giving at least five hours ofcontinuous operation Operating System

Go will use a customised version of embedded Linux. This will be loadedfrom an SD card by a custom boot-loader program which resides in Flashmemory

Hard Buttons

Go will have only one hard button, the power button. It is pressed onceto turn on or off Go. The UI will be designed so that all otheroperations are easily accessible through the pen based UI.

There will also be a concealed hard reset button.

Architecture

Go architecture is based around a highly integrated single chipprocessor designed for mobile computing devices. This device deliversapproximately 200 MIPs of performance from an industry standard ARM920Tprocessor. It also contains all the peripherals required excluding theGPS base-band. These peripherals include DRAM controller,timer/counters, UARTs, SD interface and LCD controller.

The main elements of this architecture are:

Microprocessor running at 200 MHz

32 MB or 64 MB of fast synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) with low power selfrefresh. Arranged as two devices on a 32 bit wide 100 MHz bus

SD card interface for all non-volatile storage including the OS (No RAMdrive)

Native (bare metal) boot loader stored in 256 KB of NOR Flash. ThisFlash device will contain a boot sector which is write protected tostore protected data such as unique product ID's and manufacturing data.

Debug UART (RS232 3V levels) connected to the docking connector

USB client for PC connectivity

Integrated GPS receiver

Integrated two axis accelerometer

Optional integrated Bluetooth transceiver for PDA and mobile phoneconnectivity

High quality audio through I.sup.2S codec and amplifier

FIG. 6 is the Go block diagram.

Power Management

Go will be powered from an integrated Li-Ion 2200 mAH rechargeablebattery. This battery can be charged, and the device powered (even ifthe battery contains no charge) from an externally supplied +5V powersource. This external +5V power source is supplied via the dockingconnector or a DC jack socket.

This +5V supply will be generated from the vehicle's main supply rail orfrom a mains adapter externally. The device will be turned on and off bya single button. When the device is turned off the DRAM contents will bepreserved by placing the RAM in self-refresh so that when switched on Gowill resume from where it was switched off. There will also be a wake-upsignal available through he docking connector, this can be used toauto-switch on Go when the vehicle ignition is switched on.

There will also be a small hidden reset switch.

System Memory Architecture

In contrast to conventional embedded devices which execute all the OSand application code in place from a large mask ROM or Flash device, Gowill be based on a new memory architecture which is much closer to a PC.

This will be made up of three forms of memory:

4. A small amount of XIP (eXecute In Place) Flash ROM. This is analogousto the PC's BIOS ROM and will only contain a proprietary boot loader,E.sup.2 emulation (for UID and manufacturing data) and splash screen bitmaps. This is estimated to be 256 KB in size and would be on a slow 8bit wide SRAM interface.

5. The main system memory, this is analogous to the PC's main memory(RAM). This will be where all the main code executes from as well asproviding the video RAM and workspace for the OS and applications. Note:No persistent user data will be stored in the main system RAM (like aPC) i.e. there will be no “Ram drive”. This RAM will be exclusivelyconnected to a 32 bit 100 MHz synchronous high-speed bus. Go willcontain two sites for 16 bit wide 256/512 Mbit SDRAM's allowing memoryconfigurations of 32 MB (16 bit wide) 64 MB 32 bit wide and 128 MB (32bit wide).

6. Non-volatile storage, analogous to the PC's hard disk. This isimplemented as removable NAND flash based SD cards. These devices do notsupport XIP. All the OS, application, settings files and map data willbe permanently stored on SD cards Audio

A 52 mm diameter speaker is housed in Go to give good quality spokeninstructions. This will be driven by an internal amplifier and audiocodec. Audio line out will also be present on the docking connector.

SD Memory Slot

Go will contain one standard SD card socket. These are used to loadsystem software and to access map data.

Display

Go will use a transflective 3.5″ TFT backlit display It will be a‘standard’_VGA display as used by PocketPC PDA's. It will also contain atouch panel and bright CCFL backlight.

Power Supplies Power Supply—AC Adapter Socket

4.75V to 5.25V (5.00V+/−5%)@ 2A

Power Supply—Docking Connector

4.75V to 5.25V (5.00V+/−5%)@ 2A

Variants

It shall be possible to assemble and test the following variants of Go:

Standard (Bluetooth Depopulated, 32 Mbyte RAM)

In the Standard variant the Bluetooth function is not populated, and 32Mbytes RAM is fitted.

Bluetooth Option (Future Variant)

The product design should include Bluetooth although it is not populatedin the standard variant to minimise BOM cost. The design should ensurethat all other functions (including GPS RF performance) operate withoutdegradation when the Bluetooth function is operating.

64 Mbyte RAM Option (Future Variant)

The product design should ensure it is possible to fit 64 Mbyte RAMinstead of 32 Mbyte.

Subassemblies

Go consists of the following electrical subassemblies, shown in FIG. 7.

RF Cable

The RF cable feeds the RF signal from an external GPS antenna (whichconnects to Go via the RF docking connector) to the RF PCB where the GPSmodule is situated.

External Connectors Docking Connectors

Two Docking Connectors provide an interface to external DockingStations.

Docking Connector #1 Pinout TABLE-US-00001 Pin Signal Dir TypeDescription 1 GND—Signal and power GND 2 GND—3 DOCKSNS1 I/P PU DockingStation Sense [0,1]—These signals are 4 DOCKSNS0 I/P PU connected topull-up resistors within the unit. The Docking Station pulls either orboth of these signals to GND to indicate the presence and type ofDocking Station. 5 AUDIOL O/P Audio line outputs (Left and Right) toconnect to 6 AUDIOR O/P car audio system. 7 MUTE O/P O/D The unit pullsthis line to GND to signal the car audio system to mute itself while theunit is issuing a voice command. 8 IGNITION I/P PD Ignition sense. 9DOCKPWR I/P PWR +5 V power from the Docking Station to 10 DOCKPWR I/PPWR simultaneously power the unit and charge the battery. PWR Powerconnection 0/D Open-Drain output PU Pull-Up resistor within the unit PDPull-Down resistor within the unit

TABLE-US-00002 Pin Signal Dir Type Description 1 TXD O/P UART 3 V logiclevel UART signals 2 RXD UP UART 3 RTS O/P UART 4 CTS I/P UART 5 GND—PWR6 nTRST UP JTAG CPU JTAG signals for test 7 TMS I/P JTAG andconfiguration 8 TCK I/P JTAG 9 TDI I/P JTAG 10 TDO O/P JTAG

RF Docking Connector

The RF Docking Connector allows connection of an external active GPSantenna via a Docking Station.

AC Adapter Socket

The AC adapter socket allows power to be supplied from a low cost ACadapter or CLA (Cigarette Lighter Adapter).

USB Connector

The USB connector allows connection to a PC by means of a standard miniUSB cable.

SD Card Socket

A hard locking SD card socket suitable for high vibration applicationssupports SDIO, SD memory and MMC cards.

(Although Go provides hardware support for SDIO, software support willnot be available at the time of product introduction)

Processor

The processor is the ARM920T based SOC (System on chip) operating atapprox 200 Mhz.

RAM

Go will be fitted with RAM to the following specification:TABLE-US-00003 Type SDRAM with low-power refresh (“mobile” SDRAM) Totalmemory 32 Mbyte (standard) or 64 Mbyte (future option) Bus width 32-bitMinimum speed 100 Mhz Maximum self 500_A per device refresh currentConfiguration 2 times. 16-bit wide CSP sites

Flash Memory

Go will be fitted with a minimum of 256 kbyte of 16-bit wide FlashMemory to contain the following:

Boot loader code to enable loading of O/S from SD card

Factory set read-only protected manufacturing parameters (e.g.manufactured date) and unique ID (E2PROM emulation)

User specific settings (E2PROM emulation)

The following devices can be used depending on price and availability.

GPS Internal Antenna

The GPS internal antenna is attached directly to the RF PCB.

GPS External (Active) Antenna Switching

When an external antenna is connected via the RF Docking Connector, theGPS antenna source is automatically switched to the external antenna.

Accelerometer

A solid state accelerometer is connected directly to the processor toprovide information about change of speed and direction.

Auxiliary Functions Ignition Synchronization Ignition Wakeup

A rising edge on the Docking Station IGNITION signal will wakeup theunit. The IGNITION signal may be connected to a 12V or 24V vehiclebattery.

Ignition State Monitoring

The state of the Docking Station IGNITION signal is detected and fed toa GPIO pin to allow software to turn off the unit when the ignitionsignal goes low.

Standard Peripherals

The following peripherals will be included as standard with Go.

Simple docking shoe. Mounts Go and allows charging through a DC jack. Noother connectivity is included in the simple dock.

Cigarette lighter power cable connecting to Go through the DC jacksocket or simple docking shoe.

Mini USB cable for PC connectivity

Universal mains adapter for connection to DC Jack socket OptionalPeripherals

The following optional peripherals will be available at or after thetime of launch of Go

Active antenna kit. Contains a GPS active antenna and a docking shoewith GPS RF connector and cable fitted. For self installation when anexternal antenna is required.

Professional vehicle docking kit. For fitting by professionalinstallation only. Allows direct connection to vehicle supply, audiosystem and active antenna via a vehicle interface box.

1. A navigation device, programmable with map data and a navigationapplication that enables a route to be planned between two user-definedplaces, wherein the device is operable to read a memory card that can beinserted into and removed from the device, the card storing the deviceoperating system, the navigation application, and the map data.
 2. Thedevice of claim 1 in which the device does not store its operatingsystem in internal ROM but instead reads if off from the memory card. 3.The device of claim 1 in which the memory card is a SD card.
 4. Thedevice of claim 1 further comprising internal XIP (execute In Place)Flash ROM programmed with a boot loader.
 5. The device of claim 4programmed so that on boot up the boot loader prompts for the user toinsert the supplied memory card.
 6. The device of claim 5 programmed sothat once the user inserts the memory card, it copies a special systemfile from the memory card into RAM, the system file including theoperating system and the navigation application.
 7. The device of claim6 programmed so that once copying of the system file is complete,control will be passed to the navigation application, which starts andaccesses non-volatile data from the memory card.
 8. The device of claim7 programmed so that when the device is subsequently switched off, theRAM contents is preserved so that the boot up procedure only has tooccur the first time the device is used.
 9. A method of programming anavigation device with a map database and software that enables a routeto be planned between two user-defined places, wherein the methodcomprises the step of: connecting the device to a memory card, thememory card storing the device operating system, the navigationapplication, and the map data, and in which the card can be insertedinto and removed from the device.
 10. The method of claim 9 in which thedevice does not store its operating system in internal ROM but insteadreads if off from the memory card.
 11. The method of claim 9 in whichthe memory card is a SD card.
 12. The method of claim 9 in which thedevice comprises XIP Flash ROM programmed with a boot loader and themethod comprises the step of the boot loader prompting for the user toinsert the supplied memory card on boot up.
 13. The method of claim 12in which, once the user inserts the memory card, it copies a specialsystem file from the memory card into RAM, the system file including theoperating system and the navigation application.
 14. The method of claim13 in which, once copying of the system file is complete, control willbe passed to the navigation application, which starts and accessesnon-volatile data from the memory card.
 15. The method of claim 14 inwhich, when the device is subsequently switched off, the RAM contents ispreserved so that the boot up procedure only has to occur the first timethe device is used.